EC Visitor Information

Monday, April 19, 2010

Bicycles

I just stopped in at Blue Run Bicycles in the same shopping center as Sweetbay Supermarket in Dunnellon. Grant W Chance (probably the parents risisted the temptation to make his middle name Anthony or Adam or something similar) sells and rents bicycles and helmets-$20-$30 a day and $1 for the helmet. Business is picking up these days as the temps are getting more reasonable for riding.

There is a very active rails to trails program around here. One trail that starts in Citrus Springs goes all the way to Tampa, and the Suwanee trail starts a short drive north of here. This is a good way to see some of Florida where nature still rules.

http://www.railstotrails.org/index.html

The trails are also jogger and walker and online skater friendly.

We will see some of the Withlachoochee trail on the drive from the Tampa airport.

Happy Trails to you,
Till we meet again.

(Just a little Roy Rogers and Dale Evans impression here!)

Kay

My favorite day in Gainesville

Gainesville is only an hour away and has so many interesting places to visit and good restaurants.

La Chua Trail-Take a long or short walk out on Paynes Praire. It's easy to find if you follow the maps we have left for you. It is my favorite place to take people new to the area. There is usually plenty of free parking, but weekends are more crowded. During the week is a treat. Bring the camera. On a good day the local professional photographers will be out with their masive lenses.

The trail entrance is clearly marked and there are little phamplets there most times. You will go under an old railroad bridge and around some big oaks. Just beyond the intersection of the rails to trails trail there is an outhouse for those desperate enough to use it. Good idea if you have to go as it will be your last chance. Those who plan ahead might stop at the Publix at the intersection of Williston Road and 34th St and use their facilities. Publix is usually a good bet for clean rest rooms.

The first sight is the big sink hole. Take time for a good look as the animals are real and not Disney trained. Good idea to bring some of the binocs in the house. They are old and not to be worried about if they are broken or lost. (We keep the really good ones with us. The really good ones can be purchased in Newberry at Pickett's Weaponary.) The boardwalk trail goes around the sink and gets more interesting as you go.

After the boardwalk trail is the wide and well trod grass trail with canal. Big waterbirds like to hang out at the spillway to catch fish. Good place for photos.

Keep walking for a long way and you will come to an oberservation platform. This is often a good place to see the wild Bison, cattle, wild boar (and sometimes pigglets) and wild horses. Raptors hunt around midday. Sandhill cranes can be seen in winter and early spring.

As you would be observant but not paranoid in the city, be watchful of your path and don't venture into the grass. Nature includes reptiles of all sizes. Alligators can run faster than most humans. Generally they would rather languish in the water and sun on the bank, but a bull gator in rut on the path owns the path and it is wise to let him have it. Though reptiles are not particularly as attached as mamals to their young, I think it wise to keep some distance from baby gator as well as his/her Daddy, because Mommy might be near. Snake lives here too.

On the other hand, people come here daily and it is quite safe.

If you have worked up an appetite on the ride over or on the trail, try my favorite Pizza in Gainesville-Sachels. The lunch special is a slice of pizza with lots of choices for toppings and a good sized salad with lots of yummy stuff and dressing. You can take a look at their menu online if you like.

This could be a complete day for me in Gainesville as the La Chua trail is quite magnificant. However, the Harn Museum and Butterfly Rainforest is another of my favorites and if you have the stamina and desire you could do both.

Don't forget to put on a little perfume or hand lotion if you want the butterflies to lite on you.

Kay

Kayak, my favorite paddle

Starting at the steps to the river in front of the house, paddle upriver on the right side-the wild side. Upriver go near the wild side, and downriver go Better Homes and Gardens.

Watch for; fish underwater, turtles underwater and sitting on logs, water birds in the river and on limbs above your kayak. Be quiet so that you can see more animals. Anhingha likes to perch on limbs over the river. Hope that you don't scare anhingha enough to get a "gift" on your head. Just be quiet.

The female anhingha has the brown neck and the male is all black with white patterns on his wings. You will see many of them. They are aslo known as "snake birds" as they look like a snake when they are in the water. Most of their body is submerged, but the long neck and head is above water. Sometimes you can see it swallow a small fish and watch the fish go down the neck. When you can see the anhingha underwater you will see that it flies underwater.

Another bird you are likely to see is the cormorant. These are the birds that fishermen in South China use to catch fish for them by putting a band around their necks. They will let you get very close in the kayak if you are very quiet and unobtrusive. Their eyes are a beautiful aquatic blue.

When you pass the sign in the middle of the river, you are in the State Park. No swimming or fishing allowed. Just stay in the kayak and enjoy. Keep paddling straight ahead. There will be a little patch of river grass on both sides of the kayak, but there is a "road" open for you. Just past the clump of grass on the left, look-usually several turtles. Keep paddling and when the grass opens on the right, paddle in curving to the right near the bank of the river. There is a big hole in the bottom of the river-a big boil-a place where the underground aquifer opens up above ground. If it is a still day, you can see slight indication of the water pushing out on the surface of the water.

Leave the "big boil" and continue upriver. To the right is a turtle condo-you should be able to see quite a few turtles. There are springs that are now roped off. They are bird nesting areas. Gators also like them as they are free of human traffic. There are fines if you get caught going there. All good reasons to not go there.

The head of the springs is a big boil. Sometimes you can see the force of the water on the surface. If you would like to get out and walk around a bit there is a canoe and kayak parking. Entrance to the park is $1 per person.

On the way back downriver, stick to the right side. I once went into the little area just beyond the canoe rental. One day I saw the small green heron on the bank. The next day I flushed out a sunning gator. Bit dodgie for me!

Once Marcia and I had an encounter with a family of river otter along this stretch of river.

On the right, there is a little area off the main flow of the river. Just in front of this is the sunken boat. This is also the best place to see gar fish. Some are quite large and look like leopards in fish form. The river is dark here and the gar like to fish. Be still and patient and just look for motion underwater.

Take the right side of the river home. If you like, once you are outside the boundary of the State Park (past the sign in the middle of the river) you can slide out of the kayak and float along with it in the water. We put rope on our kayaks so that they are easy to attach to our wrists and we snorkel downriver with the current pushing us.

December vist by Swiss Family

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Florida Critters

Amazing to look at, but gator can run 35mph on land and swim even better. All muscle and reptile brain. People with good mamalian brain give it wide berth!

Manatee-nothing to fear-lettuce eaters.

"Play futbol or die like fox!"

Oil tank in Tampa.

KG-photos by KG and Francoise

Day Trips and an Excursion

We were so impressed with how the Wilsons got to see so much of our area and still have plenty of rest and relaxation.

A day trip to Tampa and a short cruise around the bay got Francoise this photo of a roseate spoonbill. My photography friend and I are sooooo jealous.

OK, we know Francoise did not take this photo. It is at the Castile de San Marcos in St. Augustine. The excursion involved a drive to St Augustine with a little explore of the oldest city in the US and a look at the coquina rock fort. Note, San Marco in the background.

With an overnight in Titusville, the Wilsons were able to get to Cape Kennedy. They opted to go when they knew the weather would be good, but managed to catch the last scheduled lift off of Discovery from the Dunnellon airport the next week.

Day trip to Clearwater Beach.

Butterfly Rainforest at U of F in Gainesville.

Outdoor dining in Dunnellon at the Blue Gator. Some nights there is bluegrass and some nights sports TV.

It's about one mile upstream to the head spring which is a state park. You can paddle or you can drive. Admission is $1. This is the swimming area, and there is a short walk through their garden which leads to a several mile walk which brings you out just downriver from our house.

The La Chua trail in Gainesville-don't miss it.

KG- most photos by Francoise-

video of drive south from St Augustine on A1A

In the Water-On the Water-By the Water

River water.

Gulf Water.

Atlantic Water-the beach at Matanzas Inlet.

KG-photos by Francoise-mostly

Video-little spring boils.

Florida sits atop a labrynth of limestone with fresh clean water flowing through. Our aquifer. Ocassionally the underground water comes to the surface and flows to the east or west-to the Atlantic or to the Gulf. We call the places the water surfaces "boils", because it looks a bit like water boiling in a pot. Some boils are quite large and form the beginning of a river. All along the river and in some lakes there are little boils. This video shows little boils moving the sand. Little fish-bream and very small bass like to feed around these boils as microscopic fresh water krill are pushed up by the force of the water.